This new initiative has been founded by Dafna Tachover, the attorney and EMF/EHS advocate.

She is currently in Washington DC with Kevin Mottus, and they are lobbying Congress against 5G and wireless technologies, and working to raise awareness of electrosensitivity. I think that they are in DC for the whole of September.

At the time of writing, the website is still "work in progress", but Dafna is keen for people to submit their own electrosensitivity and wireless harm stories, so that these can be raised with the decision makers.

If you'd like to submit your testimonial, please complete the "I Am The Evidence" form - link below.

I said in my previous post words to the effect that we need to make our voices heard.

This is an excellent way to begin this process, and I hope that you will consider getting involved.

I think that the deadline for submitting comments is 30th September 2016, but will update this if it changes.

Sunday, 18 September 2016

I made a throwaway comment on Facebook recently, about how I think that we, the electrosensitive community, need to speak out and assert our fundamental human rights, through something that resembles the Gay Pride movement.

While LGBT individuals are making great strides around the world in the quest for an end to the stigma, prejudice and discrimination which has faced them in the past, we - by the very nature of our condition perhaps - are collectively much less vocal, and even when we do manage to get our voices heard, we then usually have to endure the barrage of "tinfoil hat" gags, and patronising, ignorant, and/or downright offensive comments.

Here's a recent example of the latter, possibly well-meaning (but who knows?), left underneath a Humans of New York photo and comment from an electrosensitive lady:

"It seems the hardest thing for people without mental illness to understand is that this is her reality. Yes, it's different from yours, but that doesn't make it any less real for her. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can begin to help. I hope her days are filled with some goodness, somewhere"

Here's another example of this sort of thing, this time from Professor Rodney Croft, a psychologist, and member of ICNIRP, the conflicted radiation "protection" organisation which sets the guideline exposure levels which, tragically, much of the world follows.

"Science recognises that people are suffering, but there's no evidence that it's related to the electromagnetic fields.

Once you use a double-blind testing technique where the person doesn't know when the exposure is on or off, then they are no longer able to tell when they're being exposed," Professor Croft said.

He said the symptoms appeared as a result of anticipation by the sufferer that they were going to be affected.

Here's one of Rodney Croft's colleagues, Dr Sarah Loughran, saying the same sort of thing:

"Research has consistently failed to find any association between electromagnetic field exposure and reported symptoms, or health more generally. This raises the question, if it is not the electromagnetic energy, then what is causing EHS and the symptoms that these people suffer from?

One possibility is the nocebo effect, or simply, the influence of a person’s expectations or perceptions of how something might affect them. In the case of EHS this would correspond to a misaligned belief that electromagnetic energy is harmful and, therefore, when around devices that emit such fields they expect to feel bad, and they do."

(Dr Loughran is also a member of the pro-wireless organisation ICNIRP).

Also, many electrosensitive people will be aware of Dr Gideon James Rubin, who has made the same claims, based on some electrosensitivity provocation tests which have been criticised of being of poor design and execution.

Like the LGBT community (which will obviously also include electrosensitive individuals), it can be extremely hard for us to "come out" about our condition, when doing so may jeopardise our relationships, work, finances, access to services, and so on.

There's a stigma attached to the condition - we are often characterised as being mad, tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorists. In general, the media does little to help this situation, although there have been some notable exceptions over the years.

I say that we can continue to be treated as victims, and we can continue to suffer effective discrimination, whereby we are unable to be in safe public environments which aren't polluted with harmful electrosmog, and where no accommodations are made for our condition.

We can continue to be exposed to harmful electromagnetic radiation in our homes from our neighbours, and from external wireless infrastructure, including smart meters, and - with 5G on the horizon - an explosion in the numbers of microwave-emitting small cells.

We can continue seeking help and treatment from a mainstream health system that doesn't understand or recognise our condition, and which is itself obsessed with wireless technologies - whether it's wifi, cell towers and wireless technologies in or near hospitals, or wearables that are given to discharged patients.

We can continue to be made progressively more ill as the wireless proliferation gathers pace, and all the remaining "not spots" are gradually eliminated.

We can continue being ignored or treated with contempt by international organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, our own governments, and even many advocacy organisations.

We can meekly accept a judicial system which takes its lead from the authorities, and with a few exceptions, ignores the plight of those of us who are highly sensitised to a Group 2B Carcinogen.

Or, we can say "enough is enough".

We have a term in the UK, where I am: the "Pink Pound". I think that in the US, the equivalent of this is the "Dorothy Dollar". It's basically talking about the economic power of the LGBT community, just through its sheer size and collective wealth.

If the EHS community does constitute between 3-5% of the population, or possibly higher still, how much economic power would we wield if we chose to exercise it? Would we have the power to changes things? I suspect that as our ranks continue to grow, the answer to this will increasingly become a resounding "yes". Perhaps we already have this power, but we just don't realise it.

How much political, economic and social power would we wield, if we worked together, under some common banner? Or how much power to bring about positive social change?

To do any of this though, we need to be open about how we have been harmed by electromagnetic radiation. There should be no disgrace in telling people that this Group 2B carcinogen, whether it's from low frequency radiation or from microwaves, has had a severe biological effect on us.

We have decades of scientific papers backing us up, as well as a sizeable contingent of scientific experts and medics who accept that the condition is real, and that it is linked to electromagnetic radiation.

We ourselves come from every possible background and occupation, and we have a hugely diverse range of skills and abilities (if only we lived in a safe and unpolluted environment in which to exercise them).

If we try to hide what is happening to us from our family, friends, employers, officials, service providers - whoever it is - we diminish our collective power, and we are doomed to perpetual victimhood; forever running, hiding out of sight, not speaking out, and pretending that things are all right, when they are no such thing.

None of this is to say that we should stop looking for "cures", and treatments which will reduce, or possibly even eliminate, our symptoms, in whatever form these may take.

I think that we need to understand though that our condition, whether it improves over time or worsens, gives us a unique perspective, which will always be with us.

It allows us to experience things which most other people either don't experience, or else don't associate with the true cause.

As Professor Olle Johansson says so often, it is the environment which is sick, not us. We know this!

We are special; we are humanity's early warning system. Were we to be listened to, we could bring about so much good in the world. Think of the number of people who might avoid acute or chronic disease, or possibly an early death, if they only knew what we knew, and experienced what we experience, even for just a short time.

We have a special ability, a sort of sixth sense. It's a curse as well as a blessing, but it makes us more than we would otherwise be. We can think things that other people cannot think, and feel things that they cannot feel.

In a way, we can see into the future, and we know that if this harmful technological insanity continues, it is likely to be a time of unimaginable horror - not just for us, but for everyone.

We endure levels of pain and impairment which most people couldn't even comprehend. Yet we somehow carry on, hoping for an outbreak of sanity to occur.

While many people live shallow existences, based on consumerism and self-interest, barely questioning the status quo, we can see the bigger picture - a way forward which is more positive, more sustainable, more compassionate, more generous, and - of course - more healthy.

I say again, we are special.

It's time that we take some pride in ourselves, join forces, exercise our pink pound and our dorothy dollar (or whatever the electrosensitive equivalent is), and say what needs to be said.

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Following on from yesterday's post about submitting EHS-related comments to the FCC regarding their plans for 5G in the US, involving the installation of "millions" of small cells, I've submitted mine today, which I've copied below.

I had real problems submitting a file containing my comments - I tried a number of different file types, but the only one that worked for me was a .txt file.

I don't know if other people have experienced this, but if you do, a .txt file should work.

Also, there are some instructions below which hopefully simplify the process if you have a text file that you want to submit (rather than typing a comment on their website).

Tuesday, 6 September 2016

I've never met Ann in person, and due to her condition (and my own), it seems likely that I never will. I've written one or two letters to her, and I received a very nice card from her a while back.

Ann has severe multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), and she has been made housebound by her condition. She cannot have people in her house, and keeps the windows tightly closed, to keep the toxins outside from getting in.

People who visit her, including her son, and her helper, Mel, have to communicate with her from outside, through the window. Mel posts online, as Ann is unable to do this herself.

At one time, the NHS did pay for her to have treatment from Breakspeak Medical. This helped her to have a near-normal life, but when the funding was revoked after 3 years, she was forced to stop the treatment, and her condition worsened again.

Ann then managed to raise some more money, so that she would be able to have some more treatment, and attend her son's wedding.

This post is to raise awareness of her plight, and to appeal for support and understanding.

As the toxins in our environment continue to proliferate (apparently out of control), authorities and politicians fail to act, health services fail to understand the problem, and the scientists argue among themselves, the suffering of a growing number of people is beyond anything that a so-called civilised society should tolerate.

If you want to contact Ann, you can do this via Facebook, and Mel will relay any comments on.

Below, I've copied some of the links and photos that I've found relating to Ann's life as it is now, trapped and hidden in her house.

Ann Hardwick - Facebook page

ABOUT ANN

Trapped in her home by Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Electrical Sensitivity, Ann lives a desperate, isolated, deprived life. We, her carers have set up this page and her website to draw attention to her plight.

She cannot use the phone, computer, watch tv or listen to the radio. She is housebound and cannot have anyone enter the house due to how ill chemicals such as washing powder make her.

The picture of her porch on this page is where visitors must sit and talk to her through a glass door.

Please highlight her story and if you or anyone you know can help.....

Here's a picture of Ann's son visiting her. He has to sit in the porch and talk to her through a window.The treatment that would mean Ann could give her son a hug is available but not the funding for it....

Facebook post, 5th September 2016

Ann wanted to share the state of the mould in her kitchen. The kitchen is also the room she sleeps in... she is too ill to treat it herself and anyone entering her house would make her incredibly ill so it's a vicious circle, because obviously, the mould is seriously detrimental to her already failing health #mcs #ehs #impossiblesituation

Monday, 5 September 2016

One of the people in the UK Electrosensitives group on Facebook has recently made this short video on electrosensitivity, and has put it up on Youtube.

We would like to establish an International EHS Association, run by, and for, people with electrosensitivity. Part of this will involve people like us telling our stories - whether in videos like this, or in blog posts.

There are so many of us "out there", and yet - for the most part - we are not heard, and our incapacitating conditions certainly aren't accommodated.

This must change, and I think that videos like this are an excellent way of raising awareness.

This is what the maker of this video said:

Hi all, here is an idea from our recent brainstorming coming to life. It requires your input now.

It was suggested that we create videos where everyone who knows EHS is true can have a say. You can - tell your story and show the world what it is like to be EHS - say how EHS impacts you and your life and how you feel OR... - just hold an image in front of you with a small piece of paper saying I'm electrosensitive (no need to show your face if you don't want to).

The format is free and your creative juices can flow into theatre, songs, essays or other forms or presentation. Do what you feel comfortable with. Please send your videos (about 1-5 min. length) to: international.ehs.association@gmail.com with permission to upload it to our new Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UClqm9IlJSKKrKRPAHc_9Riw When there are thousands of videos from all around the world, the world has to believe.

Introduction

This blog will publish articles on what it is like to live with electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) in the modern world, written by people who know only too well.

Very often, articles in the media seek to dismiss electrosensitivity as a psychological issue, and one that is unrelated to electromagnetic fields and radiation.

I believe that the scientific evidence shows that this industry-friendly view of the condition is catastrophically wrong, and I hope that the tales of what electrosensitive people have to endure, and what our backgrounds are, will help to dispel the myth that we have some irrational fear of technology, and that it's "all in our heads".

Please join me on this quest for recognition of this debilitating condition, and for the support and empathy of those around us.

Dave Ashton

Please post your story

*** Important - please read ***

This blog is a place where we, the growing ranks of electrosensitive people, can tell our stories, and not have to battle with the misinformation and bias that is often present elsewhere. However, before submitting your story, please think about the following important points, which are intended to protect all of us:

1) Please consider how much of your personal information you want to be in the public domain, and only include information that you are happy for the world and his uncle to see. The use of your real name is completely optional, as is the inclusion of a picture. Please do not provide any specific information that may be used by others to your detriment.

2) Please think carefully about the effect that any of the information or views that you provide may have on friends, family, colleagues and so on.

3) Please consider the detrimental impact that any information or views that you provide may have upon any legal actions in which you are involved, either now or in the future - for example by providing anything that could affect the statute of limitations.

4) All stories and articles submitted will be checked carefully by the publisher - that's me - prior to being published, as will all comments left underneath posts (no sales pitches or nastiness please). I will provide a preview of the post to the submitter before it is published and shared on social media, and will discuss any suggested changes. Once the post is published, it can be amended, but be aware that once anything is put onto the internet, it's very hard to remove all traces of it.

5) Finally, please note that the publisher of this blog accepts no liability for posts made on the blog, nor for any consequential events. Posts are published at the sole risk of the submitter, and the submission of articles or stories for publishing indicates agreement with this.

If you want an image to go with your post, please send it to me, or tell me what sort of picture you'd like included.

If you want to retain your anonymity, that's fine - but please give me a first name, nickname or initials, so that I have something to work with! Please tell me if you don't want your full name published, or if there are any other details that I shouldn't publish.

I'd like to keep to this sort of format, so - if possible - please follow this structure. This may evolve as we go though!

1) Post title2) Name (or initials, nickname etc.)3) Location4) How long have you been electrosensitive (and how long did it take you to make the link to EMFs?)5) Your story (anything that you want to say about electrosensitivity and you)6) What you'd like your friends and family to know about your life now, and what you'd like them to do7) What you'd like health professionals to do, based on your experience8) What you'd like politicians, and those in authority, to do9) In general, what needs to happen to improve your life?